North London Action for the Homeless (NLAH) is a charity that runs a drop-in centre based in Stoke Newington (N16) for the homeless and those in needy circumstances. They are funded/supplied by donations, and rely on volunteers to operate.  Twice a week, the charity provides a three-course vegetarian meal consisting of soup, bread and butter, main course, dessert and tea or coffee.  The meals are served at tables by our volunteers.  The charity, based at St Pauls West Hackney, also runs a garden project and offers many other forms of support including Health Workers, a hairdresser, a TB specialist, Drug and Alcohol workers and East European outreach workers. Currently NLAH is running a take-away service only, prepared by staff members and volunteers on site, preparing and distributing the food outside the hall.  Approximately 150 meals are cooked and distributed every week and there has been an increase in demand over the past few weeks.  Any donation you can make, large or small, will be money well spent.

I’ve been volunteering for NLAH since September and really loving it.  The team members are brilliant, and I’ve met many interesting volunteers and service users.  The supporting services, and the food, are excellent and much appreciated by the service users.  I decided to fundraise by training for the Hackney Half Marathon, scheduled originally for May 17th.  This has of course now been cancelled but I am still training, and am intending to run my 13.1 miles in the streets and parks close to where I live. 

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